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Helping home-owners – and creating a sustainable future

Toronto’s Home Energy Loan Program is set to expand city-wide, generating savings for homeowners while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, writes city councillor Mike Layton.

City councillor Mike Layton has pushed a home energy efficiency program for Toronto. (File photo)

By Mike Layton

Wed., April 15, 2015

Since the federal government cancelled the ecoENERGY home energy retrofit incentives in 2012, there have been few innovative programs available to homeowners who wanted to improve the efficiency of their homes.

In 2013, I brought together a coalition of energy experts, environmental groups, utility companies and industry associations to develop a new home energy efficiency program for Toronto.

The biggest hurdle to homeowners interested in energy retrofits is money. The No. 1 reason why homeowners are reluctant to undertake energy retrofits is the high upfront cost. People don’t know if they will recoup their investment before they sell. They think it’s a gamble. So what if we made it an investment in the property?

Launched in 2014, Toronto’s Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) provides accessible financing for home energy efficiency improvements, which are repaid through installments on your property tax bill and do not require any money invested in advance.

Through the program, qualifying homeowners can apply for a low-interest loan from the city for energy efficient improvements in their home. Eligible properties include detached, semi-detached and row houses, but there is also a program for owners of multi-unit apartment buildings, called Hi-RIS.

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HELP was developed to spark comprehensive home energy improvements, while improving home comfort and saving money on ever-rising energy bills. The program also lets people sell their home without being saddled with a financial burden, since the energy savings and associated payments transfer to the next homeowner.

The pilot program was initially launched in select neighbourhoods, aligned with Enbridge Gas incentives worth up to $2,000. In about a year, the city has received over 231 applications, offered funding to 122 households and made $1 million in investments in home energy retrofits. All of this at no cost to taxpayers.

Through HELP, homeowners are eligible for loans that are up to 5 per cent of the value of their property. Ranging from $2,960 to $35,225, the average project cost has been $18,000, taking about 50 days to complete the project. The most popular improvements include insulation, windows, doors, and heating and cooling systems. The annual energy savings are estimated to average 24 per cent.

In addition to the benefits to the homeowner through lower bills, enhanced comfort, and the reduction in greenhouse gases, building retrofits also create tax revenue for governments and new jobs in Toronto.

For every $1 million invested in home energy retrofits, which is recouped in energy savings, 15 local green jobs are created. With billions in retrofit work to be done in Toronto alone, the number of jobs created could be significant.

While the program is in many ways superior to the former ecoENERGY home program, the federal and provincial governments could create a further incentive to homeowners that would improve the programs viability and increase participation, tax revenue and jobs created.

This program is an important step in the city’s plan to create a sustainable energy future and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

Mike Layton is the Toronto city councillor for Toronto’s Ward 19, Trinity Spadina.

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